1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for applying a label to an package and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for applying metered postage labels to packages being conveyed in an electronic finishing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the electronic finishing field, multi-page documents such as insurance policies and contracts are printed on high-speed laser printers and then finished on an electronic finishing system which assembles the document and adds any desired inserts (such as prefolded advertising brochures or other solicitations) to the document to create a product and then inserts the product into a standard envelope to create a package ready for mailing. These steps are done at high speed while the accuracy of the document assembly is verified through use of a printed bar code on each sheet of the document.
Before mailing, the packages have to be weighed and postage has to be applied thereto. Heretofore, such postage application has been done by hand. There is one prior art electronic finishing system that provides in-line postage application directly to the package. One of the drawbacks of this postage application system is that it only applies postage to packages having a maximum thickness of about 3/8 inch.
The present invention is designed to overcome the above limitations that are attendant upon the use of "prior art" devices, and toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel apparatus and method for applying postage to packages travelling in an electronic finishing system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method utilizing postage labels which are printed with the proper postage and applied to the packages.
It is also an object to provide such an apparatus and method utilizing a device which strips the labels from their release sheets and transports the labels to a position for application on the packages as they are travelling through the electronic finishing system.
Yet another object is to provide an apparatus and method which accomplish the postage application at high speeds.
A further object is to provide an apparatus that is compatible with conventional electronic finishing systems and is generally compatible in physical size, form and configuration with such systems, to be readily adaptable for the same use without disadvantage.
It is a general aim of the invention to provide such an apparatus which may be readily and economically fabricated and will have long life in operation and significantly greater flexibility in use.